Today, the DOW Jones Industrial average, at one point, was down about four-hundred points.

What was the reason?

Was it a serious international incident such as the war in Ukraine? Was it worries over the Greek election of a leftist government that will challenge the Germans on paying back all of the money that they owe?

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I think it was a much more obvious reason. The global markets are simply worried about economic growth. Now that all of the world’s central banks have about spent all of the quantitative easing bullets, how will the global economy generate jobs?

The engine of global growth over the last decade has primarily been China. Their export-driven economy has chugged along at mostly double-digit growth.

However, this type of growth cannot go on forever.

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On one hand, the Chinese realize they have to keep their enormous population happy or face the consequences. They have done this through unnecessary infrastructure spending and external growth. The government realizes this model has run its course and is trying to stimulate domestic consumption as a model for the future.

They are allowing the Chinese miracle to come to an end, but there are problems. There is huge real estate and government subsidy bubble in China. How this scenario will end is anyone’s guess.

Europe is just pathetic. Their debt levels are astronomic. Most of the periphery countries refuse to reform their socialist economies.

Most likely, it will take another generation of Europeans to come of age who are makers (and not takers) before Europe can grow again.

Latin America is drowning in communism as well. Brazil, once a mighty growth engine, is mired in government interference in the markets and corruption.

Venezuela is about to go under. Argentina is a basket case.

Today, the U.S. government announced that orders for durable goods (you know, things like airplanes, backhoes, washers and dryers, etc.) were down substantially. This makes sense as the oil plunge has the U.S. economy shrinking as well. All of that economic growth that our Dear Leader has taken credit for (even though he had nothing to do with the energy revolution and actively tried to stop it) is about to dry up for the medium term.

So that is why the markets were down substantially today. They are simply worried about where future profits are going to come from, and with good reason.

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website.